For the homeless operated at the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church downtown from November to March. STM volunteers help with meals and overnight stays several nights during the year.

Dozens of churches and organizations pick the dates at which they provide meals and volunteers to staff 150 nights at Central Presbyterian (70 beds) and the neighboring Shrine of the Immaculate Conception (25 beds).  Both churches are located in downtown Atlanta across from the Capital on MLK Drive.  Unlike most shelters in the city, the Central Night Shelter is free.  It is also the only shelter completely run by volunteers, including the Director, Mark Bashor and his wife Katie.  Mark works for the CDC and Katie teaches P.E. at DeKalb’s Fernbank Elementary School.  The Bashers have been running Central Night Shelter for 12 years.  It opens November 1^st and runs through March. 

Two things are often in short supply: money and volunteers; donating money is the easier of the two options.  However, except for losing a few hours of sleep, staffing the shelter is hardly the ordeal most folks would imagine.  The guests are screened and referred by daytime service programs.  The rewarding part of volunteering is interacting with the homeless and discovering that they’re human like the rest of us.  And, those spending the night at the Shrine find themselves in good company; volunteers sleep in the crypt area with the remains of Father O’Reilly, the priest who persuaded General Sherman to spare the downtown churches during the burning of Atlanta. 

All Saints Catholic Church in Dunwoody has been very supportive of the Central Night Shelter.  It is the largest financial contributor to the centers as well as providing volunteers for 12 to 15 Sunday nights during the winter.  Ron Burbank chairs the committee for All Saints.  Each time that All Saints serves the Central Night Shelter the committee calls prospective volunteers from a list of about 250 names.  A captain is assigned, about 20 volunteers are solicited, 9 of them must be men, and a menu is selected.  The men meet at 4:30 on a Sunday afternoon in the parish center to make sandwiches to give to the homeless for their Monday lunch.  The women bring the prepared food to the church at 5:00 p.m.  Next, the group of volunteers drives to the shelter and serves dinner.  After dinner is served, the woman return home and 9 men remain at the shelter until 6:30 a.m. the next morning. 

To volunteer call the All Saints chairman, Ron Burbank at 770-457-0778.